EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 433 



LABOR. 



Man Labor. 



As already stated the labor on the dififerent dairy farms was done by 

 the owner or operator, assisted by necessary hired help. On the majority 

 of farms the women wash the utensils, but it is conceded that their labor 

 in this capacity is as efficient, if not more so, than man labor. Very 

 little child labor was used. 



For a comparative study, labor was divided as follows : Time feeding, 

 cleaning barns and care of cows, milking, care of milk and cleaning uten- 

 sils, business management, and incidental labor. Only the actual time 

 spent in performing these operations was considered. Table VIII shows 

 the average time spent on each farm per cow for one year and the cost. 

 The average time spent per cow for the year 1914 was 175.1 hours, and 

 for the year 1915, 175.4 hours. 



The price of labor per hour was based on what the monthly laborer 

 received for his services, plus board when boarded by the employer. The 

 farm laborer received from |25.00 to |30.00 per month plus board, which 

 was figured at |3.00 per week. 



In determining the labor cost per hour, actual time spent in the dairy, 

 was considered. The ten hour day was used as a basis. The average 

 price of man labor per hour for 1914 was 16.38 cents, and for 1915, 15.49 

 cents; and the average cost of labor per cow per year was $28.68 for the 

 year 1914, and .f27.19 for the year 1915. 



Horse Labor. 



Only such horse labor as was actually spent in the dairy business was 

 considered ; namely, time spent hauling milk, feeds, and incidental labor. 

 All horse labor was charged at ten cents per hour per horse. For con- 

 venience the cost of the incidental horse labor was added to the cost of 

 hauling the milk, and the cost of all horse and man labor spent in haul- 

 ing feeds was added to the price of the feed. 



Table VIII which follows, contains a record of the time occupied in 

 performing the several operations in the care of the herd. These data are 

 presented on the basis of the care of one cow for the entire year. 



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